Peng Shuai is a retired Chinese professional tennis player who began playing the sport at the age of eight. She was introduced to tennis by her uncle who was a famous coach in her home country. By the time she turned 15 in 2001, Shuai had begun playing professionally. Her highest singles ranking on the WTA circuit is No. 14 in August 2011. As a doubles player, however, she attained the world No. 1 doubles player sport in February 2014, becoming the first Chinese tennis player to achieve a No. 1 position.
Shuai is no longer active on the circuit following her retirement in February 2022. Many believe she has since gotten married and retired to raise her family but this is not the case. Peng Shuai is not married and is not currently dating anyone.
Peng Shuai Bio Summary
- Full Name: Peng Shuai
- Date of Birth: 8 January 1986
- Age: 36 years old (as of 2022)
- Place of Birth: Xiangtan, China
- Nationality: China
- Profession: Retired Tennis Player
- Height: 177 cm (5 feet 10 inches)
- Weight: 67 kg
- Parents: Peng Jijun and Zhang Bing
Is Peng Shuai Still Playing Tennis?
Peng Shuai has retired from tennis. The Chinese tennis player, who was known for her ability to play with two hands on both sides, announced her retirement during an interview with the French sports newspaper L’Équipe on February 7, 2022. Her last competitive match was at the February 2020 Qatar Total Open in Doha where she lost in the first round of qualifying to Magdalena Frech.
Other tournaments she played in 2020 before calling time on her career include the Thailand Open where she was beaten in the second round by eventual champion Magda Linette, Australian Open where she lost in the first round and Shenzhen Open where she lost in the second round to eventual champion Ekaterina Alexandrova.
She won Two (2) Singles Titles and Twenty-three (23) Doubles Titles in Her Career
Peng Shuai was more successful in doubles events than singles events. She was however able to make a name for herself in singles tournaments by being able to beat many top-5 and top-10 rated players. Some of the notable names to have fallen to her include Martina Hingis, Kim Clijsters, Amélie Mauresmo, Anastasia Myskina, Agnieszka Radwańska, Francesca Schiavone, Jelena Janković, and Marion Bartoli among others.
In doubles events, Peng mostly competed with Taiwanese professional tennis player Hsieh Su-wei. The pair notably won two Grand Slam tournaments; 2013 Wimbledon and 2014 French Open. They were also victorious at the 2013 WTA Finals in Istanbul before finishing as runners-up in the 2014 WTA Finals in Singapore. In all, Peng Shuai has a doubles career record of 341-203 (62.7%), winning 23 titles along the way. She proved to be very good as a doubles player as she made it to the number 1 spot on the WTA doubles rankings in 2014.
In singles events, Peng Shuai’s highest-ever ranking was number 14 in August 2011. Her best performance at a singles Grand Slam tournament was at the 2014 US Open when she reached the tournament’s semifinals but had to retire against Caroline Wozniacki after suffering severe cramps due to heat illness. While her tournament ended with her being taken off the court in a wheelchair, she became the third Chinese tennis player in history to make a major semifinal.
Unfortunately for her, this was the highest point of her singles career although she would go on to win singles titles. Her first-ever WTA singles title was at the Tianjin Open in 2016. She won another one at the Jiangxi Open in Nanchan, China in 2017.
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Is Peng Shuai Married? Who is Her Husband?
Peng Shuai is not married. The retired tennis player does not have a husband and to the best of our knowledge is not currently in a relationship as she has never been seen out and about in public with a romantic partner. This is not to say that she might not be maintaining a relationship in private away from the intruding eyes of the media.
She was Previously in a Relationship with Politician Zhang Gaoli
Zhang Gaoli is a retired Chinese politician who notably served as Vice Premier of China between 2013 and 2018. He is married to Kang Jie with whom he has one son. He is also the adopted father of Zhang Xiaoyan who is the biological daughter of his cousin.
Peng revealed in a Weibo post in 2021 that she and Zhang were involved in an extramarital affair for a few years. The tennis player accused the politician of first sexually assaulting her, saying that she was coerced into a relationship with him. She went on to note that the relationship has since come to an end.
What Happened to Peng Shuai?
Following Peng Shuai’s sexual assault accusation against Zhang Gaoli, she seemingly disappeared from social media, sparking concerns about her safety and well-being. While the state-affiliated Chinese Tennis Association released a statement saying that Peng was safe and not under any physical threat, no one associated with the WTA, both officials and active players, was able to reach her directly to confirm if she was ok.
Peng would later come out to retract her statement against Zhang Gaoli, saying it was a misunderstanding from the outside world and that she never accused the politician of sexual assault. She was since seen attending several events at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
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